Hey, did you hear the latest? The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) just dropped some news. They’re shaking things up with a new anti-doping program. You can check out the details here: https://t.co/LiIP8sgcfX. This news was officially announced on December 29, 2023.
But, what does this mean for the fighters? Well, not much really. It’s pretty much business as usual for them. The UFC sent out a press release last Thursday, laying out the new drug testing and doping policies. They’re calling it the “UFC Anti-Doping Policy (UFC ADP)”. It kicks off on Dec. 31, right when the UFC wraps up its deal with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
So, who’s taking over the drug testing? That would be Drug Free Sport International (DFSI). Fighters, brace yourselves. You could still get a surprise drug test at any time of the day. DFSI might do it, or it could be an organization that DFSI hires.
The samples? They’ll be checked by the Sports Medicine and Research Testing Laboratory (SMRTL) in Salt Lake City. These folks are already doing tests in line with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) protocols. The big cheese of the program will be Dr. Daniel Eichner, the current president and lab director of SMRTL. They’ll run the standard anti-doping tests on all samples. Some samples will get a “special analysis” to check for hard-to-detect banned substances like testosterone or EPO.
Here’s a twist. Unlike with USADA, DFSI won’t have any say over failed tests. They won’t be able to slap sanctions on fighters who test positive for banned substances. That power will go to Combat Sports Anti-Doping (CSAD). This group will be led by George Piro, an ex-FBI Special Agent who’s now training at the famous American Top Team gym in Florida. The UFC wants to keep a third party to suggest suspensions or fines for drug test failures. CSAD will be that third party, taking findings and results from DFSI.
What about the list of banned substances? Not much change there. SMRTL sticks to WADA restrictions, which are almost the same as USADA’s. The UFC says it’ll model its criteria on WADA’s, but won’t follow it directly. It’s still a bit hazy how the UFC’s criteria will differ. According to the UFC, they’ll increase some allowable thresholds, including for marijuana and other products linked to tainted substances or accidental use.
Finally, the UFC plans to tweak the program for listing Whereabouts. This is so testers can accurately locate fighters for testing. They’re aiming to simplify the system to make it easier for fighters to update their location if they travel or find themselves somewhere they didn’t list.